Born at Douglas, Isle of Man on 12 September 1874, he came to Canada in 1890, settling near Boissevain. He was Editor and Publisher of the Boissevain Recorder weekly newspaper from 1905 to 1945. He served on the Boissevain Board of Trade and the Boissevain municipal council, and was a director of the Childen’s Aid Society of Western Manitoba. He was made a Life Member of the Manitoba Weekly Newspapers Association and the Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association.

On 9 April 1902, he married Cassandra Cossett “Cassie” Brondgeest (1879-1966) at Boissevain and they subsequently had four daughters: Mona Lillian Udall (1903-2001, wife of H. Ridgely), Gwendoline Udall (1904-?, wife of W. F. Graham), Una Willa Udall (1907-2000, wife of R. J. Gillespie), and Elizabeth “Betty” Udall (1914-?, wife of G. S. Dinwoodie). He was a member of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church. In retirement, he lived in Winnipeg from 1949 to 1956, and in Brandon from 1956 to his death.